Recently, a critical breakthrough was achieved in the upgrade of the berth class at the Zhongzhai Ore Terminal in the Chuanshan Port Area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. An argumentation meeting, jointly organized by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Ocean Economic Development, Department of Transport, and Development and Reform Commission, was held in Beijing. The “Study on the Necessity of Upgrading Berth No. 4 at the Zhongzhai Ore Terminal in the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Chuanshan Port Area to a 400,000-ton class” successfully passed expert review, marking a major breakthrough in the project’s advancement.
It is reported that the current berth is a 300,000-ton class berth, with its hydraulic structure originally built to a 400,000-ton standard. The argumentation concluded that upgrading it to a 400,000-ton class complies with the requirements of the “Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Master Plan (2035)”. Evaluations show that the berth’s navigation and berthing conditions, as well as supporting railway transportation, can meet the safe operational needs of 400,000-ton bulk carriers, fully align with relevant national policies, and possess the conditions for upgrade.
Upon successful upgrade, the berth will strongly support the national strategy for the storage, transportation, and supply chain security of bulk commodities, implement the deployment for the construction of the Pilot Free Trade Zone, effectively adapt to the trend of larger vessels in global shipping, fully leverage the unique advantage of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port’s sea-rail intermodal transport, significantly reduce the comprehensive logistics costs of imported iron ore, and further enhance the intensive and green utilization level of shoreline resources.
Currently, the Ningbo transport and port authorities have initiated follow-up work, guiding the project construction unit to deepen the argumentation research on one hand, and actively coordinating with relevant national and provincial departments on the other hand to seek policy and resource support. After the full implementation of the project, it will effectively fill the gap of a 400,000-ton iron ore terminal in the Ningbo port area, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality construction of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port as a first-class strong port and forging the port’s core strengths.
